NOLA.com Position less important than skill set in case of New Orleans Saints' top pick Kenny Vaccaro

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Position less important than skill set in case of New Orleans Saints' top pick Kenny Vaccaro

this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; The New Orleans Saints set a precedent when they selected Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro with the No. 15 pick of the NFL Draft on Thursday. Vaccaro is the first safety the Saints have selected in the first round in their ...

The New Orleans Saints set a precedent when they selected Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro with the No. 15 pick of the NFL Draft on Thursday. Vaccaro is the first safety the Saints have selected in the first round in their 46-year draft history.

Of their previous 44 first-rounders, none was a safety.

Technically, Malcolm Jenkins, who the Saints took with the 14th pick of the first round in 2009, is also a safety. But he was a cornerback at Ohio State and played corner during his rookie season with the Saints.

Vaccaro joins exclusive company as the Saints have only selected four defensive backs in the first round, three of them in the past four seasons. Jenkins, Patrick Robinson (2010) and Alex Molden (1996) were the others.

It'll be interesting to see how the Saints utilize Vaccaro. He's something of a hybrid -- built like a free safety with the skill set of a strong safety.